Improvement in arming war-vessels



'thick iron toproteot it;

IMPROVEMENT IN ARMING WAReVESSELS.

Speeileation forming' part of Letters Patent No. iijlltll, dated May (l.18672.

To @ZZ whom may concern:

Be it known that l, .losnen l. \\'oonnrrnv, of VWest Roxbuev, in theeounty of Norfolk and ,State ot '.ll'assaehusetts7 have `invented a newMethod otArming' lar-Vessels; and l do hereby deelare that thefollowing' is a lull, elear, and exaet deseription ot' the eonstrn tionand operation thereof, taken in eonneetion with the aeeompairvingdrawings,- making' a part ol' this speeilieation7 in whieh- Figure lrepresents a'long'itudinal vertieal section ot' a vessel, showingI theamilieation of the armament thereto. Fig'. L) representsthe saine,onedialf in plan and the other halt in horizontal seetion below the deekat the eenterot' the guns. Fig'. il Vis a transverse vertieal sectionthrough the trunk and through the hull at the eentei.' ot one ot' theguns. liig. -l is a vertical longittulinal seetion olf a part ot' thebow olf the vessel, showingthe applieation oli' the bow gun. Fig'. 5 isahorixontal seetion ot' a partol the hold amidships, showing' one ol'the side guns in plan. Figa o also shows the bow gun in planwiththatpartot the vessel in horizontal seetiou. liig. 7 relnfesents avertleal longitudinal seetion ot the gun, showing' the disposition ofthe i-artridge, projectile7 displaeing'- ease, and arrangements t'orloading at the ln'eeeh and Fig. S is abaek end elevation ot' the e'un,showing the applieation -of the tiring-needle and the bar tor holdine'itto the lineeeh-serew.

The subject-matter ol my invent ion relates to a method ot arming' avessel tor warlike purposes bot-h as regards its means ot" attaek anddefense, and is designed more partienlarly to enable a vessel to attackand overpower the iron-elad .var-steamers which are now being' built bythe naval powers of the world7 and also to be eonstrueted and employedat a reasonable eost. The manner in which l propose to aeeompl ish theobjeet may be stated, in a general way, to eonsist First. .ln providing'a vessel ot' a good model,

"shallow draft ot.' water, and ol. a eapaeit v to carry eoals andinaehinery sufficientto exeel 'in speed the vessel to he attacked.

Second. ln providing means for sinking it. to 'the deek by water-ballastwhen goingI into aetion, so as to expose the smallest possible amount ofthe ship to an enemys tire, whieh part only would require to be platedwith Third. ln making' the deek eonvex or Cireular both longitudinallyand transversely, so that when the \f'essel is sunk to a iighting V trimthe sides ol the (leek will be below water and the surtaee exposed willbe presented to an enemys shot at a low angle, and the eenter ol' thedeek suttieiently above waterto enable the vessel to be worked in asea-way.

ltourth. In Forming' in the middle of the (leek a low oblong' trunkprojeeting' a short distanee above it, whieh is also plated and made apart of the deek7 through the sides otl whieh are small holes, throughwhieh ol'iservations are made, and the deek eau he defem'led bymusketry, by ojeeting hot water, or in any other manner. '.llirong'h thetop of this trunk the smoke from the boilers emerges and the ventilatiimis ttteeted,:u1 l within the same the movements are dimeted and thevessel stein'ed.

Fit'th. ltor the purposes olf attaek the vessel is provided wit h, say,three or more breeeh loading cannon ot large ealiber,wl1ieh are mounteilone at the bow raviigm tore and aft, and one on either side rangingathwartship, the muzzles oi whieh extend through the sides ot' the shipat a eonsideraliile distanee (say ten feet, more or less) n nder water,and are pr \'ided with manyv aeeessor)Y deviees7 to be hereinafter fullrdeseribed, to enable the guns to be worked under sueh Conditions. The)vare designed to Garryv a large hollow oblong' projeetile or shellearrying a lgreat bursting eharo'e, whieh is to be thrown into the hullot' the vessel attaekmfl and there exploded by a t use. 'lh e guns arepassed. through stutthigsboxesin the side of the hull and haveY nomovement, excepting in a longitudinal di reetion, and are not proposedto be aimed, as the7 are designed to be used only when near to theobjeet to be assaled.

My invention consists in the tlrst plaee in the employment, ineonneet-ion with a vessel so defended with armor-plates or theirequivalent that it may approach an enemy with safety, ol ordnance-3eonstrueted and operat ing substantially in the manner to be herein`after explained, which is arranged so as to projeot horizontally throughthe side of the vessel below the surface of the water, and to be workedin that position for the purpose of attacking a hostile ship in partsthat cannot be assailed from above the Water; second, in

making the guns with the part that passes through the side of the shipcylindrical and the employment therewith of a suitable guncarriage tosupport the breech of the gun, a stuffing-box and socket or sleeve inthc side of the vessel to receive the muzzle of the gun, and an externalport or shutter which closesA outside of the gun, or other devicesequivalent thereto, for the purpose of enabling the gun to be drawn inand loaded or removed and run out to bc fired; third, in displacingthewater Yfrom the bore of the gun when it is loaded by means of a hollowdisplacing-(aise, or its equ i valent, wh ich nearly fills all of thebore of the lgun not occupied by the charge, so as not to 'lire againsta column ot' water within the gun equal tothe contents of the bore, butto start the projectile and move it while within the gun in an atmos--phere of air or `gas.

The same letters are used in all the figures to indicate the same parts.

A represents the hull of the vessel, made of iron in the usual way, andof the usual Vform of model below the water, adapted to sail in shoalwater and propelled by a screw with any desired Aform oiii' engines andboilers, the positions only of which are represented in the drawings, as.my invention does not pertain to them. ltis also designed to be iittedwith water-tight bulk-heads in appropriate places for safety andconvenience, which are not represented.

B represents the deck. lts general form transversely to the ship is thatof a portion of a circle joined to the sides of the hull by a circle ofsmaller radius, which is tangent to both, as is shown in Fig. fi, whichrepresents thev form ainidships. rlhis form is adopted for the purposeof having it at the center at considerable height above the water whenthe sides are below the water, and also to present the exposed surfaceat a low angle to an enemys iire, and it is also a good form to repelboarding by the enemy. This deck is covered with iron plating, whichextends some distance below the water when the hullis submerged, ofsu'iiicient th ickn ess to repel any shot that may be fired against it,which from the low angle of the surface presented to `an enemys fire maybe made of much less thickness than if it were exposed at nearly a rightangle. The radius of curvature of the deck diminishes toward each endand forms into the bow and stern, so as to show a curved outlinelongitudinally, as is seen in Fig. l.. This :form of constructing thedeck is important as enabling the upper part oit' the ship -to be madein vulnerabl e by a minimum weight of plating, which again enables anamount of efficiency in speed and capacity to be obtained by a smallership then could be otherwise done.

C is a trunk or observatory, built in the middle of the deck andprojecting a short distance above it, of the form shown in the drawings,and plated also with metal heavy enough to withstand any shot that canbe thrown against it. It is provided with peep-holes c, through thesides, as shown, through which external objectsv may be observed and thedeck defended from boarding by musketry or otherwise, as has been beforestated. The trunk upon thetop is provided with shotproof gratings l) andE. Through the grat ing l) the smoke from the chimney emerges, andthrough the gratings lil the ventilation of the hold is eli'ected byblowers arranged in any suitable manner. This trunk is built in with thedeck and forms a part of it, and by projecting above the deck it enablesan open communication to be preserved from the hold to the external airwhen in a seaway, with the vessel submerged to a fighting trim,preventing the waves that would come en deck from entering the interior.

F F are fan-blowers Afor Ventilating the hold, and they are providedwith suitable pipes vleading to the several compartments. lt is proposedto discharge the foul air vinto the space around the chimney; but it maybe arranged in any convenient manner. G G are tanks or compartments forthe water-ballast to sink the vessel to fighting trim. They may bedisposed in any convenient manner and provided with proper sea-cocks forfilling the same and pumps for emptying them worked by a steam-engine.

The employment of blowers for Ventilating vessels and of water ballastand the sinking and raising of vessels by filling and emptying tanks orcompartments not being of my invention, l do not' deem it necessary todescribe and represent these parts in detail, but mention them only asforming a part oi' the arrangement in my system of armament which may beconstructed in any way that will best accommodate the purposes of thevessel. v lll is the rudder-stock, which passes through a stuffing-box,71., in the stern, as shown, and is worked .by a tiller, i), and chainsextending forward under deck to the steering-wheel I within the trunk inthe ordinary manner.

.l J .l are the guns. They are made to load at the breech in anywell-devised manner that is `found to be e'iiicient. The form shown issubstantially that of the Armstrong gun, so called, as a good example.They are made very heavy, and from about the middle to the muzzle theyare made cylindrical, so as to be able to slide back and forth in thestuffingboxcs K in the side of the hull. They are mounted at.the breechupon the slides L, which move longitudinally upon their beds M in themanner of the modern improved ships guncarriages- They have only alongitudinal movement to run out the gun to fireit, and to permit itsrecoil when discharged, or to be drawn in to load it. To prevent toogreat an extent of recoil, the slides L are made to bring up against aseries of india-rubbersprings or'cushions, VN, which arrest a further yinward movement. The slides L, are provided ames a with trucks (l (l,which are worked upon an eccentric shaft in the usual way t-o facilitate'the running' out of the guns, and may also be provided with frictionaldevices to increase the resistance to recoil', as is done ingun-carriages now used. They are also provided with `a rack and pinion,T, worked by a ratchet-lever, lr, to run out the guns; or they maybeworked by tackles instead. The studing-box K, which forms a socket forthe gun, is securely fastened to the h ull either at the bow or at theside., as shown in the drawings, and is providedl with a shutter orwhich is made to shut water-tight and to open outward and upward, and isworked by jointed rods Q. pointed externally, to offer less resistanceto the water when thevcssel' is in motion, but

those at the side are made to shut in flush with the outside.longitudinal passages and stuffing-boxes on each side of the gun, sothat the shutter or port can be opened and closed upon the inside bymoving the rods Q back and forth. When the gun is drawn in and theshutter closed, it permits the brcechof the gun to be opened to loadit., the water in the gun escaping into lthe hold.

The manner of loading the gun is shown more clearlyjn Fig, 7, where thegun and its contents are shown in section, d representing the charge ofpowder in a water-tight cartridge of copper or other suitable material,in the rear end of which at e is a fulminating primer within it,which isexploded by a driver or needle, g, inserted at the center ofthe'ventpiece f bya blow upon the outer end, h, from a lock or hammer;or, instead thereof, the cartridge maybe fired in any other suitablemanner. The onteiend of the driver y is held by the bar L' .uponthe-breech-screw V, which is constructed so as to be removed with thedriver when the gun is to be opened.

R is the projectile. It is a long thick shell of sufficient strength topenetrate a ships side where`not defended by thick plating, and

las a cavity sufficient to contain a large quantity of gunpowder. .lt isdesigned to be iircd with a small charge, so as not to send it out of anenemys vessel at the opposite side, and to be itself fired by a fuse.The remainder of the bore is filled with a water-tight case, S,

of tin orfother thin metal, whose purpose is to displace the water Vfromthe bore of the gun, so that the discharge will not have to expel a massof water therefrom, the weight of which would have the effect of addingso much to the weight of the projectile and produce an increased recoilof the gun. This case may be made to inclose the projectile and chargeor occupy the space in front of port, P, f

The port of the bow gun ,is made The rods Q pass throughv them, as maybe desired. The case, projectile, aud cartridge all fit the boreloosely, as there is no provision for tiring with accuracy, nor is anyneeded, as they are designed to fire at an object only when'near it; butthe guns may' be riied or the projectiles made with wings to give themrotation' to insure theirmotion endwise, if desired. I propose to arange as shown'naniely, one at the bow andin aline with thekeel and oneat' either side, or two or more could be placed at the side, if desired.

l is the windlass, placed below deck with the cable leading upward overasheave, X, on deck to a haW-se-pipe, Y, as is shown. The vessel may be.fitted with hatches where required, elosed by vgratings or hatch-coversmade shot-proof.

The manner of attack by such a vessel is to chase lthe enemy at a lightdraft until within reach of his guns. The vessel is then submerged, soas to expose only the deck to his fire, which enables it to approach himwith impunity. Then almost in contact with him, the 'gun that bearslnost advantageously upon him is Iired,`and the projectile is thrownthrough his side far below the part usually protected by platings andleft within the hold to explode at the proper time and destroyjeverythingin its vicinity.Y No vessel ever yet made could withstand theeffect of one shot under such conditions, neither the explosion of theshell nor the opening; made through the side so far below water. )neshot would sutlice to end the conflict.

Having thus set fort-h my invention, what I claim is as follows:

1. The employment of a gun or guns constructed and operating`substantially as described in a ship so constructed and defended witharmor-plates or their equivalent that the ship may approach an enemywith reasonable safety, substantially in the manner and for t-he purposedescribed. l

2. Combining a gun constructed and employed in a vessel as describedrwith an appropriate gun-carriage to support the breech, a socket andstuffing-,box in the side of the hull to support the muzzle, and anexternal port or. shutter or other devices equivalent thereto to enablethe gun to be worked, substantially as described.

3. Displacing the water from the bore of the gun between t-he charge andmuzzle by means of an air-tight displacing-ease or its equivalent.,substantially as described.

JOSEPH P. WOODBURY. \\'i,tncsses:

W. S. DEXTER, WM. C. HIBBARD.

These guns

